There is no secret that some parents will stop at nothing to avoid paying their child support. There are stories of parents moving to different cities, states and in some instances countries. The mere mention of child support payments will cause a parent to indulge in some unethical behaviors. If you suspect the non-custodial parent is trying to avoid paying their child support obligation there are a few things you can do.
Make sure you have gathered all pertinent information about the non-custodial parent: i.e. full names, social security number, current and former address places of employment, licenses, ownership of business, boats, etc. and previous places of employment, physical description, new marriages etc.
Parents who owe child support and who are actively evading their child support obligation may transfer the title to their business and other assets to a new spouse, friend or relative. This is called a fraudulent conveyance, which is a transfer of real or personal property without a fair price being paid. It is imperative that the custodial parent contact the state or local child support agency to see how best to pursue action against the non-custodial parents for fraudulent conveyance in your state.
A parent may not show as the owner of property and there are times when custodial parents have no clue where the non-custodial parent might be living, this does not mean your local child support agency cannot assist you in locating the parent. The best way to really find out if child support can be collected is to request child support enforcement services from your State or local child support enforcement agency. These agencies can provide locator services, so not having a current address won’t disqualify you from receiving services.
It is amazing the lengths parents will go to in an effort to avoid paying child support and it is difficult to establish or enforce a child support order if someone is willing to disrupt his/her own life to avoid supporting a child, or has the help of family or friends to hide income. If you are committed and willing to work with the system most things hidden eventually come to the light and the truth about hidden assets will be revealed. Maintaining a copy of all your child support information is important and can easily be documented in a little record book entitled "A Matter of Record: Keeping Track of Your Child Support.
The Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) supports various programs and initiatives that support the location of participants in child support cases, collection of child support payments, enforcement of child support orders, communication between states, and online profile information regarding how counties, states, regions, and international offices operate. Those programs include:
The Federal Case Registry (FCR) contains state Child Support Enforcement (IV-D) and non IV-D case data and serves as a pointer system to help locate persons across state lines. Person data in the FCR are matched daily against employment data in the National Directory of New Hires (NDNH) and sent to states to facilitate case processing and increase collections, especially through automated income withholding.
The Federal Income Tax Refund Offset Program enacted by Congress to recover delinquent child support debts. This remedy involves the interaction of all State IV-D agencies and three Federal agencies - OCSE, FMS, and IRS.
The Passport Denial Program, which is part of the Federal Offset Program, is designed to help states enforce delinquent child support obligations. Under the program, non-custodial parents certified by a state as having arrearages exceeding $2,500 are submitted by the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) to the Department of State (DoS), which denies them U.S. passports upon application or the use of a passport service.
The National Directory of New Hires (NDNH) provides a national directory of employment and unemployment insurance information that will enable state Child Support Enforcement (IV-D) agencies to be more effective in locating non-custodial parents, establishing child support orders and enforcing child support orders. State Directories of New Hires (SDNHs), State Employment Security Agencies (SESAs), and federal agencies provide information to the NDNH.
Many parents are completely unaware of the resources available to locate parents who refuse to pay their child support obligation. There are parents who have enlisted the assistance of their employer to avoid paying child support. Today, federal law requires employers to honor properly executed wage withholding orders. If the employer doesn't withhold the money and send it to the Child Support Enforcement (CSE) program, the company is liable for the amount that should have been withheld. The notice of withholding that your child support enforcement office sends to the employer must include this information.
Obviously, enforcement remedies have been developed which overlap. For example, liens and bonds may be available when wage withholding fails, Federal income tax refund offset may pick up arrearages, child support offices must periodically report child support arrears to credit bureaus, and some kinds of property can be seized and sold to repay child support debts.
States now have laws requiring employers to report newly hired personnel, and to suspend drivers, business and trade licenses of obligors who do not pay their child support. If none of these remedies work, check with your state to see if there are others available under state law: some states will jail child-support evaders; some will require a parent who claims to be unemployed to show proof of a job search.
It is the custodial parent’s responsibility to arm themselves with as much information about child support enforcement as possible. Child support workers, attorneys and child support advocates/mediators are working on your behalf but they can only do so much; the real responsibility begins with you the custodial parent and the information you bring to the table. Collecting child support can be a challenge but it is nothing compared to watching your children do without the basics needed to survive.
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